The high-level Jawaharlal Nehru University inquiry committee investigating the controversial February 9 incident on the campus has recommended rustication of five students, including students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya — the three students who have been charged with sedition by the Delhi police. Mr Kumar was released on interim bail from Tihar on March 3 but Mr Khalid and Mr Bhattacharya are still in judicial custody.
Sources, however, said the final decision on the recommendation by the inquiry committee will be taken by the vice-chancellor, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, and JNU chief proctor A. Dimri after a thorough scrutiny of the suggestions made by the panel.
A meeting of the university’s top brass, chaired by the vice-chancellor, discussed the report after which the varsity issued a show-cause notice to 21 students, including Mr Kumar and Mr Khalid, who were found guilty by the inquiry committee of having violated university rules and discipline norms.
“The high-level committee has recommended rustication of five students after its investigation over a month. However, the final call in this regard will be taken by the vice-chancellor and the proctor’s office,” the sources said.
The university had on March 11 revoked the academic suspension of eight students, including the JNUSU president, after completion of the probe by the five-member panel.
The inquiry committee was formed on February 10 to probe the controversial event organised to protest hanging of Afzal Guru, the Parliament attack convict. The inquiry panel, which was granted three extensions before it finally submitted its report, also faced difficulties in its investigation as the students refused to depose before it, demanding that the probe committee be constituted afresh.
The varsity, however, turned down the demand and maintained that the students would be given three chances to appear before the disciplinary committee and, if they failed to do so, the committee would finalise its recommendations on the basis of evidence available, eyewitness accounts, students’ deposition, if any, and other material available on hand.
Welcoming the decision of the inquiry committee, ABVP leader and JNUSU joint secretary Saurabh Sharma said: “I welcome the decision of the committee. Better late than never. I would request the administration to put all decisions and reports of the inquiry in public domain and there should be an immediate action on this offence so that the culprits can be punished in the most strict bounds of law.”
Meanwhile, the Delhi police special cell on Monday allegedly seized two laptops and mobile phones belonging to Mr Khalid and Mr Bhattacharya from the university campus.
According to sources, the Delhi police had written a letter to the JNU vice-chancellor on Saturday to allow cops to enter the campus and give them access to the hostel rooms of the two jailed students, already sealed by the cops.
“On Monday morning, the team investigating the case received a confirmation letter from the university permitting them to enter the campus to continue the probe. After which, a team in civil clothes went to the hostel and seized their laptops, mobile phones and other documents,” a highly-placed source said.
“Some documents, including the note pads, a file containing some printouts, two CDs have also been recovered,” said another source privy to the investigation. The source added that when Mr Khalid and Mr Bhattacharya were interrogated and questioned about the whereabouts of their laptops and mobile phones, they said that everything belonging to them is kept in their hostel rooms and could be recovered from there. The police wrote to the concerned authorities after this to seek the permission to seize the laptops and other belongings.
The police is examining the laptops and the mobile phones. “Khalid’s laptop can only be opened after entering the password. During interrogation, he shared the password and when the laptop was recovered, the battery was found discharged.” Also, the mobile phones of the two students were locked but were opened after entering the password shared by them.
The Delhi police feels it might get some clues and evidence related to the controversial event for the laptops and mobile phones.
